The First Kiss

She was an angel who never saw her own beauty. She knew, that even though sightless, she had the inner glow that makes a person shine. It was an innate feeling, full of love and joy. She may only be thirteen, but, she was in a class by herself... There were pangs of what she did not have. She was told she was ''special''. It is an awful term. It means society believes she should be treated as ''normal'', but, the irony is that the very same people who demanded the equality are also damning her. She did not want that. What she wanted was a kiss... Most boys and girls have their first kiss around the dawn of adolescence. The age various in some people, but, it is the teenage years. Some are aggressive in this pursuit, some are shy. This girl, Mary, was in the middle... When she was five, Mary asked her mother what various things looked like. Mary was blind since birth, she had no concept on what shapes and forms looked like. Colors, whatever they were, had no meaning for her. It all ran together for her-- at one point she asked her mother what the wind looked like. When you have no reference, you are an open book. Mary felt love a child feels for their parents, but, she still could not fathom what she was loving. This is where her soul came forward to speak. When you can't see, you can't judge good or bad, beautiful or ugly, skin color or ethnic background-- therefore, she was pure love... It was the life she knew. There was no sorrow-- perhaps, a sad longing sometimes to be free of her imprisonment. She knew her friends could roam about in childhood freedom, but, she was held back by fate. That was ok. However, she longed to see herself. She often wondered if that thing called ''beautiful'' was something she might be. She hoped so, because all of the things she had ever heard about people said that they all judge a person based upon how they looked. This ''looks'' thing must be very important. Mary didn't understand why. Was it not more important how ''beautiful'' someone was as a person than how they looked?... Still, the kiss was important to her. She knew her lips were involved. Mary hoped that the lips she would feel would be just as soft as her own. And, there was the hope that the strong feeling she possessed would come back to her in the boy. Not any sexual feeling, because she was too young for that, she knew. Rather, a connection between between a boy her age and herself. A connection of goodness and impulse. A connection of trust and deep feeling. A connection of that would build hope to her future. Mary wasn't looking for love, but, a first step on that bridge to love someday. Mary decided on her friend Bobby to be that first kiss... There were five close friends of Mary's that she had in her life. They had been also classified as being ''special''. Though she had never seen them, she felt her friends souls. They were good for her. They accepted her as one of their own. There was no judgment because they, in a way, were as one. But, from the first time she met him a year ago, Bobby got to her the most. Bobby was also thirteen, two months older than Mary, so, he seemed more worldly. Bobby was funny. In the group she was in Bobby was the joker. The other kids were a grateful audience. Mary loved to laugh. When Bobby would do his weird impressions of their teachers Mary thought she would never stop laughing. The teachers were all nice, but, Bobby would take the mickey out of them-- never to their faces, of course. He was respectful and polite. Besides, there was never any real malice behind the jokes, it was just Bobby being himself. He was sweet and gentle with her. Maybe, he sensed a kindred spirit with her that he did not find with the others in their group. Even though he was not blind, Bobby had his ''special'' problem. The wheelchair he was in attested to that... Bobby was born healthy. He lived an active childhood until around the age of eleven. Then his body began to betray him. His muscles refused to work for him anymore. Finally, he was diagnosed with some long name disease he could not pronounce. The nickname for the disease was named after some old baseball player-- ''Lou Gehrig's Disease''. Apparently, Bobby told Mary, this disease would slowly kill him. There was no cure. For the last few years, Bobby was called ''special'' from other kids. He watched from his bedroom window as other boys from his neighborhood played ball and ran after each other, like he used to. Bobby told Mary that he saw the faces on other people pretending not to notice he was in a wheelchair. Bobby caught the teases and taunts from some cruel kids who picked on him because he could not stand. Still, he developed a remarkable sense of humor that won everyone over. He was truly good-hearted and kind--traits he shared with his friend Mary. That his life was not long to be did not seem to bother him. He wanted to do what he could before time ran out on him.... Mary knew Bobby wanted to kiss a girl. And, Bobby was smitten with her. He thought Mary was all sunshine and sweetness, a beauty, inside and out. Bobby read a lot, he was quite advanced in the art of romance in his dreams. And, Bobby loved that smile of hers!! That smile that came so readily when she looked at him... One day, it happened. The two of them were alone together, talking easily with each other, as they always did. Mary and Bobby could tell each other anything, so, the topic of the first kiss was not embarrassing at all. They both said they wanted the other to be that first one. No one else would do. Then they started to giggle. ''Well, one of us has to make the first move'' said Mary. Bobby took her face in his hands and felt her skin. As he did this, Mary felt a sensation go through her system. It was part fear, to be sure, but, also a glorious feeling of love. Bobby then moved closer to her lips and they touched... The kiss lasted maybe a minute, but, for both of them it felt like centuries. Because this was a kiss made up of caring and love and protection for each other.... It was ''special''....